DAMASCUS
Kerry shrugs.
"More like a couple of weeks, actually. They called it black pox. Something the Russians cooked up in the nineties. Apparently, it spreads really well."
Marcus takes a long, sour pull at a piss-warm beer.
"So where are the bodies? I don't mean to sound like I'm doubting you, but…"
Kerry glances over at him, then looks away.
"Buried, at first. Burned, later. The last ones are probably still in their houses with bandanas over their mouths."
"And you're still here because?"
She smiles, and shifts her body just far enough that the sides of their hands touch. Marcus finds his attention funneling down to that single point of contact.
"Maybe I was waiting for you?"
***
Later, Marcus says, "I can feel your heart beating."
"Yeah," Kerry murmurs. "I can feel yours too."
He brushes her hair back from her face.
"So, are we gonna re-populate the planet?"
She nuzzles his neck, puts a finger to his lips.
"Shhh," she says. "Don't overthink this."
